Frank H. Hennemann

Last updated
Frank H. Hennemann
Frank H Hennemann January 2024.jpg
Frank H. Hennemann (in January 2024)
Born
Frank H. Hennemann

(1978-07-01) 1 July 1978 (age 45)
Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
NationalityGerman
AwardsSponsorship award of the Munich Entomological Society (2009)
Editor’s Choice Award of the Annals of the Entomological Society of America (2010)
Ian Abercrombie Award of the Phasmid Study Group (2017)
J. O. Westwood Medal (2018)
Scientific career
Fields Zoology
Biogeography
Institutions Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
Montreal Insectarium
Author abbrev. (zoology) Hennemann

Frank H. Hennemann (born 1 July 1978 in Ludwigshafen) is a German entomologist and taxonomist who works in the field of biodiversity research on the systematics and biogeography of stick insects (Phasmatodea).

Contents

Biography

Hennemann grew up in Bad Dürkheim and Freinsheim on the edge of the Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve. Since his childhood, he has been interested in animals, especially the arthropods, amphibians and reptiles in his native environment. He first bred stick insects at the age of eleven with Extatosoma tiaratum and Haplopus bicuspidatus , which awakened his enthusiasm and fascination for these insects and their breeding. In 1990, for example, he acquired additional species of stick insects at a meeting of phasmid friends at the Palatinate Museum of Natural History in Bad Dürkheim, so that he soon had an entire room full of breeding cages and terrariums. In addition to keeping and breeding stick insects, he soon became interested in their taxonomy, as well as the differentiation, characterization and systematization of the different species and genera. As the number of species increased, his interest in collecting insects was awakened, which formed the basis for building his extensive, constantly growing collection of specimens. [1] [2]

A trip to Singapore in 1990 with his father, who worked there, inspired Hennemann for the tropics, so that in the following years he undertook further trips to Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia and Sri Lanka and in 1991 he saw the first stick insects in their natural habitats on the Malay Peninsula could collect. After graduating from high school, he began studying biology and teacher at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, as well as training to become an automobile salesperson. From 2001 onwards, with his long-time friend Oskar V. Conle, he undertook collecting trips and expeditions to Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, French Guiana, Costa Rica and Panama, as well as to Texas, to obtain stick insects for biodiversity studies and to observe them in their habitats. One of these trips was a multi-week expedition to the biological research station Panguana in the lowland rainforest of Peru in 2004, in which he took part together with employees of the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology. Since 1997, he and Conle have also made numerous trips to natural history museums in Europe and the USA to study the collections there and photograph type specimens for taxonomic studies. With the numerous photos he has taken since then, he supports the online database Phasmida Species File. [1] [2] [3]

Research fields and publications

Hennemann has been a member of the Phasmid Study Group since 1990 and wrote the first breeding instructions in the “Phasmid Studies” published by it in 1992. [4] The first publication on the taxonomy of stick insects, with the description of a new species, appeared in 1995. The first description of a genus and a new species belonging to it followed in 1996. Both are still valid today. [3] Since then, over 80 further publications have followed, dealing not only with taxonomy but also with the biogeography of stick insects in the Oriental and Neotropical realm. Since 2005, Hennemann, together with Conle and other entomologist friends, has been publishing the series “Studies on Neotropical Phasmatodea”, in which 25 papers have been published so far (as of the end of 2023). [5] In 2011, together with Conle and Yeisson Gutiérrez, he published the book “The Stick Insects of Colombia”, in which four genera and 74 new species from Colombia that were new to science were described. [6] His work on Oriental stick insects primarily deals with the fauna of Wallacea (particularly Sulawesi) and the Philippines. For his revision of the subfamily Heteropteryginae, published in 2016 together with Conle, Paul D. Brock and Francis Seow-Choen, he received the J. O. Westwood Medal of the Royal Entomological Society in 2018, a medal of honor for the best taxonomic work of the year, which he received together with his co-authors that same year at the European Congress of Entomology in Naples. [7] [8] In 2000, Conle and Hennemann launched the website www.Phasmatodea.com, which serves as an information and knowledge portal for anyone interested in stick insects. [9] Hennemann has been a volunteer research assistant at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology since 2004 and a freelance research assistant at the Montreal Insectarium since 2020. [10] [11]

Sungaya aeta, one of the most popular stick insects, was described by Frank Hennemann in 2023 Sungaya aeta pair.jpg
Sungaya aeta , one of the most popular stick insects, was described by Frank Hennemann in 2023

Hennemann has so far (as of the end of 2023) described one subfamily, four tribes, 37 genera, 274 species and 9 subspecies. [10] [11] Among the stick insects he discovered or described, there are several species that are very common among breeders in Europe, such as Peruphasma schultei from Peru, Myronides glaucus from Peleng, Oreophoetes topoense from Ecuador, Haaniella gorochovi from Vietnam, and the walking leaves Phyllium philippinicum and Phyllium ericoriai from the Philippines or the Obriminae Trachyaretaon bresseeli , Sungaya aeta and Sungaya ibaloi , which also come from there. [3] [12]

Awards

In addition to the J. O. Westwood Medal, Hennemann and Conle received the Munich Entomological Society's sponsorship award [2] in March 2009 and the Editor's Choice Award from the Annals of the Entomological Society of America in December 2010. He was awarded the Ian Abercrombie Award by the Phasmid Study Group in 2017. [10]

Hennemann with the Westwood-Medal at the European Congress of Entomology in Naples 2018 Frank H. Hennemann ECE2018 Westwood-Medal.jpg
Hennemann with the Westwood-Medal at the European Congress of Entomology in Naples 2018

Dedication names

The genus Hennemannia Seow-Choen, 2016 as well as the following stick insect species are named after Frank Hennemann: [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heteropterygidae</span> Family of stick insects

The Heteropterygidae is a family of stick insects belonging to the suborder Euphasmatodea. Species can be found in Australasia, East and Southeast Asia. More than 130 valid species have been described.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heteropterygini</span> Tribe of stick insects

Heteropterygini is the only tribe within the subfamily of the Heteropteryginae. With 19 representatives described, this subfamily includes the fewest species of the three subfamilies, but includes the largest and most striking species of the family.

<i>Hoploclonia</i> Tribe of stick insects

Hoploclonia is the only genus of the tribe Hoplocloniini and brings together relatively small and darkly coloured Phasmatodea species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obrimini</span> Tribe of stick insects

The Obrimini are the most species-rich tribe of the Phasmatodea family of the Heteropterygidae native to Southeast Asia.

<i>Haaniella</i> Genus of stick insects

Haaniella is a genus of the Phasmatodea family Heteropterygidae from Southeast Asia.

<i>Mearnsiana</i> Genus of stick insects

Mearnsiana is a genus of stick insects, which is native to the Philippine islands Mindanao, Leyte and Dinagat.

<i>Miroceramia</i> Genus of stick insects

Miroceramia is a monotypic genus of stick insects, containing Miroceramia westwoodii as the only described species. It is the only fully winged one of the subfamily Obriminae.

<i>Trachyaretaon</i> Genus of stick insects

Trachyaretaon is a genus of stick insects native to the Philippines.

<i>Brasidas</i> (insect) Genus of stick insects

Brasidas is a genus of stick insects that is native to the Philippines and is named after the Spartan general Brasidas

<i>Eubulides</i> (insect) Genus of stick insects

Eubulides is a stick insect genus native to the Philippines.

<i>Theramenes</i> (insect)

Theramenes is a genus of medium-sized stick insects in the tribe Obrimini, which is native to the Philippines and to the Indonesian Talaud Islands.

<i>Orestes shirakii</i> Species of stick insect

Orestes shirakii is a species of stick insects native to Taiwan.

<i>Trachyaretaon carmelae</i> Species of stick insect

Trachyaretaon carmelae is a species of stick insects. It is one of the largest in the subfamily Obriminae.

<i>Haaniella erringtoniae</i> Species of stick insect

Haaniella erringtoniae is a stick insect species. It is a typical representative of the subfamily Heteropteryginae. The occasionally used common name Errington's Haaniella refers to the species name.

<i>Haaniella gorochovi</i> Species of stick insect

Haaniella gorochovi is a stick insect species from Vietnam. It is a typical representative of the subfamily Heteropteryginae. The occasionally used common name Gorochov’s Haaniella refers to the species name.

<i>Stenobrimus</i> Genus of stick insects

Stenobrimus is a genus of medium-sized stick insects native to the Philippines.

<i>Haaniella scabra</i> Species of stick insect

Haaniella scabra is a species of stick insect native to Borneo and a typical representative of the subfamily Heteropteryginae. The occasionally used common name Small Haaniella refers to the size of this.

<i>Haaniella saussurei</i> Species of stick insect

Haaniella saussurei is a species of stick insect native to Borneo and a typical representative of the subfamily Heteropteryginae. The occasionally used common name Saussure's Haaniella refers to the species name.

<i>Pylaemenes sepilokensis</i> Species of stick insect

Pylaemenes sepilokensis is a species of stick insects (Phasmatodea) that is found in Borneo, more precisely in the Malay state of Sabah.

Pterobrimus is a monotypic genus of stick insects (Phasmatodea), containing the species Pterobrimus depressus, which is native to Fiji.

References

  1. 1 2 Biography of Frank H. Hennemann on phasmatodea.com
  2. 1 2 3 Sponsorship award from the Munich Entomological Society
  3. 1 2 3 4 Paul D. Brock; Thies H. Büscher & Edward W. Baker: Phasmida Species File Online . Version 5.0/5.0 (accessdate December 16, 2023)
  4. Phasmid Study Group
  5. Publications of Frank H. Hennemann and other authors of phasmatodea.com
  6. Frank H. Hennemann, Oskar V. Conle & Yeisson Gutiérrez (2011), The Stick Insects of Colombia, Books on Demand, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8391-8125-6.
  7. Frank H. Hennemann, Oskar V. Conle, Paul D. Brock & Francis Seow-Choen: Zootaxa 4159 (1): Revision of the Oriental subfamiliy Heteropteryginae Kirby, 1896, with a re-arrangement of the family Heteropterygidae and the descriptions of five new species of Haaniella Kirby, 1904. (Phasmatodea: Areolatae: Heteropterygidae), Magnolia Press, Auckland, New Zealand 2016, ISSN   1175-5326, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4159.1.1
  8. List of winners of the J. O. Westwood Medal of the Royal Entomological Society
  9. phasmatodea.com Website by Frank H. Hennemann, Oskar V. Conle, Pablo Valero and Bruno Kneubühler
  10. 1 2 3 ResearchGate about Frank H. Hennemann (accessdate December 16, 2023)
  11. 1 2 Orcid about Frank H. Hennemann (accessdate December 16, 2023)
  12. Hennemann, F. H. (2023): A taxonomic review, including new species and new records of Philippine Obrimini stick insects (Insecta: Phasmatodea: Heteropterygidae: Obriminae) , Faunitaxys, 2023, 11 (71), pp. 1–135.